"End Hunger"

^31-33“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

^34-36“Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

     I was hungry and you fed me,
     I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
     I was homeless and you gave me a room,
     I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
     I was sick and you stopped to visit,
     I was in prison and you came to me.'

^37-40“Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.'

^41-43“Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because-

     I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
     I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
     I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
     I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
     Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

⁴⁴“Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?’

⁴⁵“He will answer them, ‘I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me-you failed to do it to me.’

      This week we begin a series on the Christian Work of Justice.  We will address a sampling of social problems of concern to everyone: hunger, domestic violence, economics, and healing. We will look at what the Bible has to say in addressing these problems and we will consider the question of a faithful Christian response.

      In recent memory, American Christianity has focused on two major areas. First, private spirituality. The church has quite naturally devoted time and resources to worship, prayer, bible study, evangelizing the unchurched, and educating people in the faith. In addition, the church has focused on charity. This has been seen in almsgiving, planting foreign missions for humanitarian aid, and by countless programs which serve immediate human need. Every one of these efforts reflect faithful Christian responses to the gospel call.

      In recent years, however, Christianity has often neglected the work of justice. How does the Christian work of justice differ from the work of charity? William Sloane Coffin put it succinctly:

      Charity is a matter of personal attributes; justice, a matter of public policy. Charity seeks to eliminate the effects of injustice; justice seeks to eliminate the causes of it. Charity in no way affects the status quo, while justice leads inevitably to. . . confrontation.”  (From his book, Credo.)

      The work of justice has been much less emphasized in Christian circles of late, though there is a long history of Christian involvement in social justice concerns: abolition of slavery, protesting the Nazi regime, women's rights, the civil rights movement, the peace movement, and apartheid, to name but a few.

      The Bible devotes a lot of attention to social justice. A lot.

      In the Old Testament, God is frequently described as the God of justice. Justice is important to God; justice defines God's character. "I, the LORD, love justice." says the prophet Isaiah (Isa 61:8). God is very concerned with the plight of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the weak, the oppressed, and the alien.

      Justice is a faithful response to God's teaching, understanding that God desires wholeness for all humanity, which means making things right. "What does the LORD require of you?" asks the prophet Micah. " To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God." God is also concerned with the right ordering of power. The prophet Isaiah proclaims God intends the redemption of everything, including government itself (Isaiah 9:6-7).

      In the New Testament, Jesus continually challenges the social structures of his day (Matt 9:35-38; Acts 3-4, 5:12-16). He condemns the religious establishment for neglecting justice: "Woe to you, religious hypocrites! You tithe, but you've neglected more important things-justice, mercy, and faithfulness." (Matt 23:23)

      Our call to take social justice action is not only based in the Bible, but also in our Reformed understanding of sin. Presbyterians understand the impossibility of extricating ourselves from sin under our own power. We cannot do it without God. It is helpful to understand that sin has many faces, and that sin may go beyond our own personal relationship with God.

      Theologians argue (and the biblical witness supports) the concept of corporate sin (in contrast to personal sin). Personal sin is familiar. It has a certain appeal to our self-sufficient American psyche. I am responsible for myself and myself only. I cannot be responsible for nor can I alter the sinful systems I may participate in.”

      Corporate sin may include personal sin, but it goes beyond it. Corporate sin is harder to conceptualize. Corporate sin is a sinful act done by many to others. Corporate sin happens when we participate in (or fail to object to) social, economic, or legal actions which oppress others. For example, if a law gives preferential treatment to one particular group and ends up oppressing others, my benefitting from this law amounts to my participation in corporate sin.

      I have mentioned some glaring examples of corporate sin already: the slave trade, racial oppression, genocide. Today we look at hunger.

      First, some statistics about hunger.¹  Right now there are about 6.5 billion people on our planet.  1 billion are chronically malnourished. At the same time, about 1 billion people are overweight.²

      15% of all U.S. households are food insecure, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics gathered in 2009.³

      Texas ranks second in the country for food insecurity, according to a study by the UDSA. One in four Dallas children are food insecure.

      Next, some statistics about food. About 33% of worldwide grain production is given to feed livestock. In developed countries, that figure is 70%.⁴  It requires about 1,857 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef. This takes into account all the water needed to grow the grain which feeds the cow. Americans do not pay the actual cost of producing meat, or it would be unaffordable for 90% of Americans.

      Every year in the United States, about 60 million tons of food (worth about $5 billion) is left in the fields because it is deemed unsaleable or undesirable. It is estimated that the food waste in the United States and the United Kingdom alone could feed the world three times over.

      "When did I see you hungry, Lord?"

      It is difficult for us to imagine not being able to eat, not being able to feed our children. We give money to alleviate these immediate needs, we provide sandwiches once a month to the Austin Street Shelter, we donate food to the WRCH, we deliver Meals on Wheels. These things are good. They are wonderful.

      The Christian call to justice demands more.

      There are two things I would suggest we begin to look at (if we haven't already). First is how we participate in systems which compound hunger and contribute to the unequal distribution of food:

1. Our choice of diet
2. Our demand for "perfect and beautiful" produce
3. Our demand for food products flown in from all over the world
4. Our demand for cheap food products
5. Our habits of overconsumption and our tolerance for wasting food

      You may not feel these things are sinful. You may feel this is simply the way things are. And you are right. It is the way things are. However. The gospel calls us to look deeper. Our gospel today informs us in no uncertain terms that what we experience in this life, what we do (and what we neglect to do), has eternal implications for us. God judges differently than humans.

      The gospel also underlines the fact that what we see, think and experience in this life isn't always accurate. God has a larger picture for us in mind. God wants us to understand that the ways in which we treat the "least of these" is the way we treat God. The people who fed the hungry and visited the lonely did not even realize the full implications of what they were doing.

      It is even possible that the people who did wrong: who neglected justice, who went on their way ignoring the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned and the poor---they surely did not realize the full implications of their neglect.

      You may feel that what you eat doesn't matter. What you buy doesn't matter. This is where we all need to enlarge our thinking about sin. These things matter because they affect others. The American consumer is a huge decision maker. The more we waste, the more we consume, the less there is for others. It matters to God. Each of us can cultivate habits which encourage more equitable and sustainable food, or we can add to the problem.

      Second, we can look for opportunities to actively intervene on behalf of hungry people. Doing justice might take the form of supporting programs for families who are food insecure, examining legislation which continues to provide enormous grain production subsidies, or supporting programs to promote better farming practices in other countries.

      Some suggestions we may want to consider: 1. Get better informed 2. Pray for solutions to this problem 3. Shape your life to fit your values 4. Change the systems of hunger by getting involved with advocacy 5. Contribute to organizations whose mission involves changing the systems of hunger

      We are going to be looking at many different topics over the next few weeks. No one can do everything, nor should you! Discover the particular passion which calls to you. If you find yourself drawn advocacy, come and talk with me about it. There are many groups, organizations, and individuals already working hard on hunger problems. I commend to you the organization Bread for the World, which is not only dedicated to the charitable work of alleviating hunger but also to the work of justice in alleviating hunger. The book, Exodus from Hunger, outlines the problems and ongoing solution efforts. I commend it to you as well.

      When did I see you hungry, Lord?